Moonlight
by Professor-FickleBottom
Summary: Following the deaths of her parents Rukia has no choice but to move a foreign town where her mysterious uncle lives. Little does she know how odd the folks really are- only every full moon that is.
1. Chapter 1

This can't be happening. Thought Rukia as her uncle handed her the keys to his front door as he went back to retrieve her suitcase. The sun began to set and she barely noticed the illuminated exterior of the rustic two-story log cabin as she made her way up the planked staircase, to an old wooden door. Her hands were shaking too badly for her to push the key into the lock. Teardrops forming in her eyes. His footsteps echoed on the wooden floorboards as he came up behind her, took the key from her shaking hands and opened the door. He stepped back to let her in.

She entered the room and her lips parted in shock. The lounge room was covered in large oil paintings of mountains and forest landscapes, animal heads hung on the rotting wood walls. Deer, moose, rabbit heads, were displayed as trophies along the top of a wooden cupboard. Animals that had been beautiful in life, hung all around the room. Rukia though she was gonna throw up. She was a vegetarian and she and Momo had been active in animal rights laws. To her, her uncle's living room was a chamber of horrors. Why hadn't she remembered that from her last visit?

"Come here, let me show you around," he said.

"Where's my room?" She managed to say. "I just feel like lying down."

He shrugged "Okay then. Follow me."

On the right side of the modest-sized living room, an old wooden staircase passed more heads, a medium sized rifle sat on an old metal rack and what appeared to be a cracked glass window. Her uncle carried her suitcase, while she wrapped her hands around her stuffed chappy doll. She hated climbing the stairs so close to the blank, watchful glass eyes avaerted her attention to the cracked window. The cracked glass window was stained in a thick layer of what looked like red paint but on a cold night like tonight, it gave the apperance of blood.

He reached the second floor and turned right, moving down a dark corridor featuring some more deer heads and a small wall sconces that looked like old fashioned gas lights. A wooden door to her left was opened and the light from the hall revealed a bathroom sink. That must be the bathroom she thought. They continued to walk down the dark hall, when he suddenly stopped and pushed on the door at the end of the hall, it opened.

The wall sloped and there was a small window positioned directly above a queen sized bed to provide skylight. A metal shelf on the right held two ivy pots and under it a wooden nightstand held an antique lamp with cranberry coloured glass. There was a small dressing table directly across from the bed, with a big circular mirror. On it was a bottle of furniture polish and a dirty rag. She smelt the lemony scent of the furniture polish and also, dust. Maybe he had spent the last couple of days cleaning? To make her feel at home. But it was nothing like her old bedroom. The room that had been burnt to ashes, from the fire.

"Thanks," she said stiffly.

He put down her suitcase and went over to the dressing table to collect the dirty rag and furniture polish. "You must be hungry." He said

"I'm not. Really. I'm just a bit tierd" She didn't look at him, but kept her gaze on the patterned rug, positioned in the middle of the room.

When the door clicked shut, she realised that he had already left. She collapsed onto the bed, stretching her arms as she lay there, motionless, as the tears began to stream down her face. After awhile, she forced herself to stop, the last thing she needed was for him to come up and find her like this.

Thunder rumbled; rain splattered against the windows. She would never tell anyone she was afraid of lightning and thunder. She never knew why, could it be because there was lightning and thunder on the night of the fire?

When it finally stopped, she quieted. She walked over to her suitcase and unzipped it. Picking up her phone as she made her way back over to the bed. She flicked on her phone and browsed through her contacts. When she finally found the right number, she clicked on it. She desperately needed to talk to Momo. No reception. Then there must be a landline somewhere, she thought. Most people kept their phones in the kitchen, right.

So she got up again and went down the hall. As she reached the top of the stairs, she smelled smoke. She panicked and ran down the stairs. She was just about to scream, when she saw the fireplace. Instead of looking warm and cozy, it sent a wave of fear through her body. She almost ran back up the stairs at the sight of it.

It's okay. It's normal.

"Normal" was her new most hated word.

She cautiously made her way around the corner. Trying her hardest not to advert her gaze from the hanging animal heads that decorated the room. When she found the kitchen, she flicked on the light. Revealing a run-down, but clean-looking kitchen. The blue paint on the aged cabinets was peeling away and the counter tops were rusty and chipped at the ends. The front of his ancient white fridge held nothing, but a calender that was from 1984.

She was getting a bit thirsty now, so she opened the fridge in an attempt to find water. The fridge was bare, it held nothing in it but a six pack of beer, an old molded loaf of bread and a package wrapped in butchers paper. Blood was soaking through the paper.

"Eww, gross!" Shrieked Rukia as she slammed the door of the ancient fridge shut. She took a few steps back, before she continued her search for a wall phone. Finding nothing. She decided to start looking through some of the drawers. Notepads, scissors, pens, pencils and a dog leash.

She picked up the leash, remembering the dog from her brother in law's story. She heard a light scratching sound against the back door. Maybe it's the dog. She thought.

With the leash still in her hand, she made her way to the wooden back door, when she opened the door, the light from the kitchen spilled onto a small planked porch. The moonlight cast light on the tiny raindrops that covered the branches of every tree. It was so different here, the smell of mud and burning wood filled her nostrils. She walked 3 steps off the porch, onto flat stones arranged to form a path.

The extensive green leaves of the tree infront of her began to rustling.

"Doggie?" she called softly

The back door, slammed open and she nearly jumped out of her skin. Turning around, she saw her uncle, a rifle in his hand. Her eyes widened and she stumbled towards the tree.

"Rukia!" he shouted, "Get in here now!"

She lifted her hand and showed him the leash. "I was just looking for your dog"

"I don't have a dog." He adverted his gaze to the tree behind her. "Anymore."

"Hello?" a male voice called from the front of the house. "Is this a bad time?"

Rukia sighed, all she wanted was a cup of water and to talk to her best friend, she didn't want to have to be social, especially not now.

"We have company," he said "Please come inside, it's dangerouse out there."

Dangerous, what did he mean dangerous, she was barely 2 metres from the house and he's standing out here with a shot gun in his hands. It was aleady creeping her out that he has dead animal heads in his house, but apparently he also has loaded shot guns as well.

"Fine, but can I borrow your phone?" She asked

"Hello!" the voice called again "Kuchiki, you in there?"

"Just give me a minute" her uncle almost shouted back.

She stepped back onto the porch, feeling a little more relaxed.

"Rukia" He said " You see around here we have this whole friendly hospitality tradition, so I'm expecting that you will" he trailed off

"You want me to introduce myself, don't you" she said.

"That is correct," He said.

"Fine then, so if I introduce myself to him then can I make a phone call to my best friend," she asked.

"Then you can make a call" He clarrified

They walked back into the kitchen, where she returned the dog leash to the drawer. She the walked into the living room with her uncle. The front door was open, but the porch light was off, there was someone standing out on the porch, he was wearing a black leather jacket that covered most of his features, but she couldn't help but notice how big he was, he looked about six or seven feat tall, if not more and his muscles were clearly visible under the thick leather jacket. But the most suprising thing about this boy, was his hair. He had long scarlet hair that was tied into a ponytail, even on a dark night like tonight, his scarlet red hair still seemed to be able to stand out and when the light of the moon hit it, it looked like it was glowing. There was only one word she could think of that would describe him "Wild".

He slung his thumbs in the pockets of his jeans and smiled at her. It sent chills up her spine. There was something about him that made her tingle.

"Hey, Rukia." He said. She found herself smiling back which was really weird, because just a second ago there was nothing on earth that could make her smile.

"Renji," Her uncle said in greeting. So his name was Renji, she liked that name.

"Well what are you waiting for, get in here" Said her uncle as he motioned with his hands to get in

"Right" Said Renji, taking off his shoes and walking in.

When he walked past her, he winked. Which made her blush a bit.

They walked into the living room and took a seat at the dining table, while her uncle went and got the food. Leaving her and Renji to sit awkwardly in silence. After awhile, he came back with a bowl of ... Salad? Or at least she thought was salad.

He placed the bowl on the table and sat down in the empty chair.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" He asked "Let's eat"

She looked at the bowl again, she was so glad that they weren't eating some sort of steak or something, because afterall she was a vegetarian. But looking at Renji, it was quiet obvious that he wasn't. He looked at the dish before him, a horrified expression on his face.

"Hey, Kuchiki what is that?" Asked Renji pointing to the dish fearfully

"Well, that my son, is what you call a salad" He replied in a fatherly voice

"So, people actually eat that stuff"

"Yes, it's actually really healthy and good for you"

Rukia watched their conversation with amusement. Was this really the first time, he's seen salad? she wondered

After a few more questions, Renji took a bit of the salad and placed it on his plate. Staring at it for a good 10 minutes before actually putting it in his mouth and like she had predicted it came out almost as fast as it had came , he definitely wasn't a vegetarian.

As dinner progressed, she found that it wasn't half as bad that she had thought it would be earlier, in fact she was enjoying it, quiet alot. It amused her how hot headed Renji was and how easy it was to get him angry. And the fact that he could be absoulutely clueless of what was going on around him, only added to her amusement.

"Well, rukia" Said her uncle " There is a reason I've invited Renji over tonight"

All eyes went to him

"Really?" She said a little confused

"Yeah well what you see here" He pointed to Renji "Is your ride to and from school every morning and afternoon, starting from tomorrow" He anounced

"B-But" She was really scared about this whole driving to school thing, what if he got lost, or worst, crashed?

"No buts, I've already paid him 30 bucks so theres no way your refusing" Her uncle said

Oh great, now she was certain she would die.


	2. Chapter 2

This can't be happening. Thought Rukia as her uncle handed her the keys to his front door as he went back to retrieve her suitcase. The sun began to set and she barely noticed the illuminated exterior of the rustic two-story log cabin as she made her way up the planked staircase, to an old wooden door. Her hands were shaking too badly for her to push the key into the lock. Teardrops forming in her eyes. His footsteps echoed on the wooden floorboards as he came up behind her, took the key from her shaking hands and opened the door. He stepped back to let her in.

She entered the room and her lips parted in shock. The lounge room was covered in large oil paintings of mountains and forest landscapes, animal heads hung on the rotting wood walls. Deer, moose, rabbit heads, were displayed as trophies along the top of a wooden cupboard. Animals that had been beautiful in life, hung all around the room. Rukia though she was gonna throw up. She was a vegetarian and she and Momo had been active in animal rights laws. To her, her uncle's living room was a chamber of horrors. Why hadn't she remembered that from her last visit?

"Come here, let me show you around," he said.

"Where's my room?" She managed to say. "I just feel like lying down."

He shrugged "Okay then. Follow me."

On the right side of the modest-sized living room, an old wooden staircase passed more heads, a medium sized rifle sat on an old metal rack and what appeared to be a cracked glass window. Her uncle carried her suitcase, while she wrapped her hands around her stuffed chappy doll. She hated climbing the stairs so close to the blank, watchful glass eyes avaerted her attention to the cracked window. The cracked glass window was stained in a thick layer of what looked like red paint but on a cold night like tonight, it gave the apperance of blood.

He reached the second floor and turned right, moving down a dark corridor featuring some more deer heads and a small wall sconces that looked like old fashioned gas lights. A wooden door to her left was opened and the light from the hall revealed a bathroom sink. That must be the bathroom she thought. They continued to walk down the dark hall, when he suddenly stopped and pushed on the door at the end of the hall, it opened.

The wall sloped and there was a small window positioned directly above a queen sized bed to provide skylight. A metal shelf on the right held two ivy pots and under it a wooden nightstand held an antique lamp with cranberry coloured glass. There was a small dressing table directly across from the bed, with a big circular mirror. On it was a bottle of furniture polish and a dirty rag. She smelt the lemony scent of the furniture polish and also, dust. Maybe he had spent the last couple of days cleaning? To make her feel at home. But it was nothing like her old bedroom. The room that had been burnt to ashes, from the fire.

"Thanks," she said stiffly.

He put down her suitcase and went over to the dressing table to collect the dirty rag and furniture polish. "You must be hungry." He said

"I'm not. Really. I'm just a bit tierd" She didn't look at him, but kept her gaze on the patterned rug, positioned in the middle of the room.

When the door clicked shut, she realised that he had already left. She collapsed onto the bed, stretching her arms as she lay there, motionless, as the tears began to stream down her face. After awhile, she forced herself to stop, the last thing she needed was for him to come up and find her like this.

Thunder rumbled; rain splattered against the windows. She would never tell anyone she was afraid of lightning and thunder. She never knew why, could it be because there was lightning and thunder on the night of the fire?

When it finally stopped, she quieted. She walked over to her suitcase and unzipped it. Picking up her phone as she made her way back over to the bed. She flicked on her phone and browsed through her contacts. When she finally found the right number, she clicked on it. She desperately needed to talk to Momo. No reception. Then there must be a landline somewhere, she thought. Most people kept their phones in the kitchen, right.

So she got up again and went down the hall. As she reached the top of the stairs, she smelled smoke. She panicked and ran down the stairs. She was just about to scream, when she saw the fireplace. Instead of looking warm and cozy, it sent a wave of fear through her body. She almost ran back up the stairs at the sight of it.

It's okay. It's normal.

"Normal" was her new most hated word.

She cautiously made her way around the corner. Trying her hardest not to advert her gaze from the hanging animal heads that decorated the room. When she found the kitchen, she flicked on the light. Revealing a run-down, but clean-looking kitchen. The blue paint on the aged cabinets was peeling away and the counter tops were rusty and chipped at the ends. The front of his ancient white fridge held nothing, but a calender that was from 1984.

She was getting a bit thirsty now, so she opened the fridge in an attempt to find water. The fridge was bare, it held nothing in it but a six pack of beer, an old molded loaf of bread and a package wrapped in butchers paper. Blood was soaking through the paper.

"Eww, gross!" Shrieked Rukia as she slammed the door of the ancient fridge shut. She took a few steps back, before she continued her search for a wall phone. Finding nothing. She decided to start looking through some of the drawers. Notepads, scissors, pens, pencils and a dog leash.

She picked up the leash, remembering the dog from her brother in law's story. She heard a light scratching sound against the back door. Maybe it's the dog. She thought.

With the leash still in her hand, she made her way to the wooden back door, when she opened the door, the light from the kitchen spilled onto a small planked porch. The moonlight cast light on the tiny raindrops that covered the branches of every tree. It was so different here, the smell of mud and burning wood filled her nostrils. She walked 3 steps off the porch, onto flat stones arranged to form a path.

The extensive green leaves of the tree infront of her began to rustling.

"Doggie?" she called softly

The back door, slammed open and she nearly jumped out of her skin. Turning around, she saw her uncle, a rifle in his hand. Her eyes widened and she stumbled towards the tree.

"Rukia!" he shouted, "Get in here now!"

She lifted her hand and showed him the leash. "I was just looking for your dog"

"I don't have a dog." He adverted his gaze to the tree behind her. "Anymore."

"Hello?" a male voice called from the front of the house. "Is this a bad time?"

Rukia sighed, all she wanted was a cup of water and to talk to her best friend, she didn't want to have to be social, especially not now.

"We have company," he said "Please come inside, it's dangerouse out there."

Dangerous, what did he mean dangerous, she was barely 2 metres from the house and he's standing out here with a shot gun in his hands. It was aleady creeping her out that he has dead animal heads in his house, but apparently he also has loaded shot guns as well.

"Fine, but can I borrow your phone?" She asked

"Hello!" the voice called again "Kuchiki, you in there?"

"Just give me a minute" her uncle almost shouted back.

She stepped back onto the porch, feeling a little more relaxed.

"Rukia" He said " You see around here we have this whole friendly hospitality tradition, so I'm expecting that you will" he trailed off

"You want me to introduce myself, don't you" she said.

"That is correct," He said.

"Fine then, so if I introduce myself to him then can I make a phone call to my best friend," she asked.

"Then you can make a call" He clarrified

They walked back into the kitchen, where she returned the dog leash to the drawer. She the walked into the living room with her uncle. The front door was open, but the porch light was off, there was someone standing out on the porch, he was wearing a black leather jacket that covered most of his features, but she couldn't help but notice how big he was, he looked about six or seven feat tall, if not more and his muscles were clearly visible under the thick leather jacket. But the most suprising thing about this boy, was his hair. He had long scarlet hair that was tied into a ponytail, even on a dark night like tonight, his scarlet red hair still seemed to be able to stand out and when the light of the moon hit it, it looked like it was glowing. There was only one word she could think of that would describe him "Wild".

He slung his thumbs in the pockets of his jeans and smiled at her. It sent chills up her spine. There was something about him that made her tingle.

"Hey, Rukia." He said. She found herself smiling back which was really weird, because just a second ago there was nothing on earth that could make her smile.

"Renji," Her uncle said in greeting. So his name was Renji, she liked that name.

"Well what are you waiting for, get in here" Said her uncle as he motioned with his hands to get in

"Right" Said Renji, taking off his shoes and walking in.

When he walked past her, he winked. Which made her blush a bit.

They walked into the living room and took a seat at the dining table, while her uncle went and got the food. Leaving her and Renji to sit awkwardly in silence. After awhile, he came back with a bowl of ... Salad? Or at least she thought was salad.

He placed the bowl on the table and sat down in the empty chair.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" He asked "Let's eat"

She looked at the bowl again, she was so glad that they weren't eating some sort of steak or something, because afterall she was a vegetarian. But looking at Renji, it was quiet obvious that he wasn't. He looked at the dish before him, a horrified expression on his face.

"Hey, Kuchiki what is that?" Asked Renji pointing to the dish fearfully

"Well, that my son, is what you call a salad" He replied in a fatherly voice

"So, people actually eat that stuff"

"Yes, it's actually really healthy and good for you"

Rukia watched their conversation with amusement. Was this really the first time, he's seen salad? she wondered

After a few more questions, Renji took a bit of the salad and placed it on his plate. Staring at it for a good 10 minutes before actually putting it in his mouth and like she had predicted it came out almost as fast as it had came , he definitely wasn't a vegetarian.

As dinner progressed, she found that it wasn't half as bad that she had thought it would be earlier, in fact she was enjoying it, quiet alot. It amused her how hot headed Renji was and how easy it was to get him angry. And the fact that he could be absoulutely clueless of what was going on around him, only added to her amusement.

"Well, rukia" Said her uncle " There is a reason I've invited Renji over tonight"

All eyes went to him

"Really?" She said a little confused

"Yeah well what you see here" He pointed to Renji "Is your ride to and from school every morning and afternoon, starting from tomorrow" He anounced

"B-But" She was really scared about this whole driving to school thing, what if he got lost, or worst, crashed?

"No buts, I've already paid him 30 bucks so theres no way your refusing" Her uncle said

Oh great, now she was certain she would die.


	3. Chapter 3

hen she finally crawled into bed that night she felt exhausted. She looked up at the ceiling, listening to the light pour of rain as it fell against the skylight. Eerything was different here. She wondered if she'd ever get to sleep, but her exhaustion was to much for just simple thoughts to keep her awake, so within a few minutes she was out like a lamp. Completely forgetting about the all important phone call to her best friend Momo.

She startled awake a few hours later, heart pounding, palms sweating. It was still dark and it was still raining. What had woken her up?

She looked around the room, her throat felt dry and she really needed something to drink. After a bit, she got out of the bed and tiptoed down the hall. Her uncle's door was shut but she could hear him snoring, so she ran down the stairs as quickly and as quietly as she could catching glimses of the ever so terrifying animal heads.

She stumbled into the kitchen. Moonlight shone through the small gaps in the curtains and reflected onto the rusty countertops. She tried to find the light switch, running her hands across the smooth tiled walls in hope that she would eventually come across the light switch. But she couldn't seem to find it. She suddenly jerked her hand away as she felt something furry against her hand and remembered all the dead animal heads that were hung up all across the house. She hoped that what she had just touched was not an animal head. She turned in the other direction and continued her search for the light switch. Lightning crackled, making her jump. Her heart beat quickened. Where is that damn light switch? She thought as she continued her search.

Shoulders tight, arms crossed. She was now standing in the middle of the room in the semidarkness. Sighing she walked over to the cuboard, retrieved a glass, went over to the sink and filled it up and drank.

The hairs on the back of her neck stood up and all of a sudden she felt cold and uncomfortable. Someone is watching me, she thought.

But all she saw in the small space between the curtains, was the continues fall of raindrops.

Shadows shifted; something was definately moving out there.

Wind, it's probably just the wind, she told herself. Squirrels.

Rukia couldn't remember wether or not her uncle had locked the back door. She took a step forward, and then . . . that same scratching sound. She stepped backwards. Then she heard something, low and rumblinng. Was it Thunder or a Growl?

Scared, she bolted out of the kitchen, running straight into the dinning table. Wincing at the pain, she turned to flee.

She sprinted all the way up the stairs and back into her room. A sudden relief washed through her. She picked up her stuffed chappy doll and squeezed it tightly against her chest as she got back in the bed.

I'm not gonna invite you in" She spoke

"Rukia" Her uncle said from the other side of the door, "Are you okay?"

She felt guilty now that she had woke him up over some noise she had heard.

"Umm, well I went to get some water, and then I thought I saw something" She hesitated " And there was a noise. It kinda sounded like something growling."

"I'll go check"

She grimaced, embarrassed. But she couldn't deny that soothing feeling she felt when he told her that he'd at least go check for her. But then, what if something was out there, what would happen to her uncle, the only family she has left?

"Wait, I wanna come with you" She suddenly announced, as she quickly got out of the bed, walked acrossed the room and opened the door.

He was already half way down the hall, and carrying a rifle in his left hand. He stopped, realizing that she was right behind him, "No Rukia, you can go back to sleep. It's probably just nothing."

"Then why are you holding a rifle?" She asked.

"Stay in your room," he ordered, stunned by the harshness of his voice. And she knew by the way he looked at her, that there was no way on earth he thought it was nothing.

But in the end, she went back to her room. Sitting on the edge of her bed, arms crossed. She shifted her weighed, bracing herself for another catastrope to happen. She was certain that something bad was about to happen. She was panicing, but still she managed to keep a straight face.

How long had she sat there?

It felt like hours, but she knew in reality it had probably just been a few minutes. She was scared. Scared of loosing him, scared because the only family she had left, was out risking his life, because of some silly noise she had heard. Finally she had decided she had, had enough. She walked over to the door, yanking it open.

Only to find her uncle on the otherside, his hand raised in mid air ready to knock on the door.

"Hi" She managed to say

His hair and shirt were soaked. The rifle he had was gone now; he was wiping his face with a wet tea towel. His face looked a bit pale

Did he find something? She wondered

"Well, heres the thing" He said "Can I come in?"

She moved out of the way and there was a chair right across from the bed, that she assumed he would sit on. So she sat on the bed.

But he for some strange reason, decided to remain standing. He glanced around the room, as if to consider what he was about to tell her.

"Well, about a week ago, a girl was killed,"he began

"Oh, I'm so sorry, was she someone you knew?" She said, alarmed

"She had been killed in the forest" He gave her a long look "She was had been alone when it had happened."

Rukia waited. Then it hit her, they lived in the forest, his house was surrounded by trees.

"I wont go in the forest alone." She said, as the reality hit her. "I'm not a hiker. Or a mountain person. I'm a beach person." She added.

"This is not a joke." He said seriously "She is dead."

"I don't mean to sound like I don't care" She said, which was true, she did care. In fact, she was terrified.

"I promise, I wont go out there alone."

He opened his mouth as if he was gonna say something. But just sighed and shook his head.

"Well, good night Rukia" He said instead

"Good night" She replied

She was sorry for the girl that had been killed. But she was angry at her uncle for dragging her out here in the forest, to live with him. In a forest that, she couldn't even take a few steps outside, without a fear of getting ripped apart by some wild animal. SH egrabbed her chappy doll and almost threw it at the wall, but instead she hugged it against her chest, letting the tears fall down her face as she slowly drifted off to sleep again.

What was out there?

What was that scrathing sound?

Why did she feel like someone was watching her?

The Next Morning

"Hey Rukia, you ready?" Her uncle yelled " He's here already"

"Comming!" She shouted, as she stuffed the toast in her mouth and ran out the front door, mouth still stuffed with toast.

"Hey, Rukia, you ready?" Asked Renji

Since she was still chewing the toast, she just gave him a thumbs up and nodded.

"Ok then, Renji make sure you drive slowly and don't crash" Said her uncle, jokingly

"Right" Replied Renji

Walking outside, to his car.

"Sweet ride, hey" He said proudly, hopping into his ride

She had expected him to have some beat up old truck like her uncle's one. But she was quiet suprised when he showed up in a shiny red mustang, with leather black seats.

"Yeah" Was the only thing she could come up with.

He turned on the engine, that roared like a lion and she waved a bye to her uncle before quickly hoping into the shiny red mustang.

It began to rain as they drove into the rain and the greenery. Renji, turned on his ipod and some AC/DC song started to play through the car speakers.

"So...my uncle said, that you got beat up for writing poetry" She said, teasingly

"Oh shit really... maybe when I was four, he's just telling you that to get you less attracted to me" he grinned at her. Which she couldn't help but laugh at.

"Well, it is now!" He said

Even though she knew it was rude, she couldn't resist the chance to text Momo. So for the rest of the trip to school, she had texted Momo. Momo had been waiting forever, to hear from Rukia. And she was texting her at like 4am at L.A. Rukia glanced up every few minutes to loook at Renji. He didn't seemed to mind being ignored. He just kept driving throught the dark woods like a maniac.

"Hold on" Renji suddenly shouted

Her head shot up, and she grabbed onto the side of the car, as they shot through a pitch black tunnel created by trees and vines.

"Ok, we're almost there, brace yourself for impact" He said

And ahead she could see the end of the pitch black tunnel, he suddenly sped up as they neared the end of the tunnel. And after a few more minutes, he started to slow down as they drove out of the dark tunnel.

She took a deep breathe as they drove into an old looking village. The houses were all built from stone and infront of very house was a small family owned shop. The town wasn't as bad as she and Momo had expected it to be. They passed a fountain that was in the center of a round about and a led sign was engraed on the side of the fountain, which said "Welcome to Wolf-Country" I wonder what that is? She thought

"Well, thats the school" Said Renji as he drove towards the buildings he just pointed to. "Ok, we'll park in the senior's parking lot and then I'l walk you to the front office"

"Ok" She said as he drove towards a parking lot with, alot of old rusty trucks and 2 big yellow school buses that had just pulled up.

"Hey," He said "I've gotta tell you something" His brown eyes seem to get darker and she coud tell that he was hesitating "About a week ago, just before you arrived, a friend of mine was killed" Of course he would have known her, afterall everyone knew everyone around here.

"My uncle, told me" She said

"What exactly did he say to you?" He asked, seriously

"Well he said that she was out in the forest alone. And that she had been killled" She said

He glanced back to the road, manuvering through the parking lot.

She wondered if the girl was close to him. His girlfriend, maybe.

"There are alot of urban legends, in a small town like this" He grimaced "Well, her name was Orihime and her death was the hot topic, well until everyone heard about the hollywood movie star that was comming to live here"

"Woah, you mean me?" She burst out, shocked. But he didn't crack a smile. She realized, that he was not only upset, but angry too.

"everyone brought teddy bears, candles andpictures and stuff to school. We all went to her funeral too. But now, now it's like she never even existed. But I havent forgotten, I wont ever forget her."

"I'm so sorry, Renji." She said sincerely

"I'm not trying to blame this all on you, it's just..." There was a silence "I want ya to be careful, okay." He forced a smile.

"And not just in the forest"

"RIght" She replied

I guess he was warning her about being the new girl here.

Once he parked, they both got out of his car and since it was still pouring, they both ran towards the arched entry with everyone else.

It suddenly, felt warmer in the building, she followed Renji as he lead her to the front office. On the way there she took glances at some of her new school mates. Picking out the geeks from the jocks. And guessing who would be popular and unpopular.

She took a deep breathe. Okay Rukia, new school, new rules. You can be anyone you want. Since no one knows you.

Well except for Renji. She noted. As he walked faster, she tried her hardest to keep up. Renji lead her to the door of the front office. And pointed inside.

"Okay, well this is it, I'll come find you at luch okay, bye" He said before dissapearing into the crowd

Leaving her alone, in a sea of new kids.

hen she finally crawled into bed that night she felt exhausted. She looked up at the ceiling, listening to the light pour of rain as it fell against the skylight. Eerything was different here. She wondered if she'd ever get to sleep, but her exhaustion was to much for just simple thoughts to keep her awake, so within a few minutes she was out like a lamp. Completely forgetting about the all important phone call to her best friend Momo.

She startled awake a few hours later, heart pounding, palms sweating. It was still dark and it was still raining. What had woken her up?

She looked around the room, her throat felt dry and she really needed something to drink. After a bit, she got out of the bed and tiptoed down the hall. Her uncle's door was shut but she could hear him snoring, so she ran down the stairs as quickly and as quietly as she could catching glimses of the ever so terrifying animal heads.

She stumbled into the kitchen. Moonlight shone through the small gaps in the curtains and reflected onto the rusty countertops. She tried to find the light switch, running her hands across the smooth tiled walls in hope that she would eventually come across the light switch. But she couldn't seem to find it. She suddenly jerked her hand away as she felt something furry against her hand and remembered all the dead animal heads that were hung up all across the house. She hoped that what she had just touched was not an animal head. She turned in the other direction and continued her search for the light switch. Lightning crackled, making her jump. Her heart beat quickened. Where is that damn light switch? She thought as she continued her search.

Shoulders tight, arms crossed. She was now standing in the middle of the room in the semidarkness. Sighing she walked over to the cuboard, retrieved a glass, went over to the sink and filled it up and drank.

The hairs on the back of her neck stood up and all of a sudden she felt cold and uncomfortable. Someone is watching me, she thought.

But all she saw in the small space between the curtains, was the continues fall of raindrops.

Shadows shifted; something was definately moving out there.

Wind, it's probably just the wind, she told herself. Squirrels.

Rukia couldn't remember wether or not her uncle had locked the back door. She took a step forward, and then . . . that same scratching sound. She stepped backwards. Then she heard something, low and rumblinng. Was it Thunder or a Growl?

Scared, she bolted out of the kitchen, running straight into the dinning table. Wincing at the pain, she turned to flee.

She sprinted all the way up the stairs and back into her room. A sudden relief washed through her. She picked up her stuffed chappy doll and squeezed it tightly against her chest as she got back in the bed.

I'm not gonna invite you in" She spoke

"Rukia" Her uncle said from the other side of the door, "Are you okay?"

She felt guilty now that she had woke him up over some noise she had heard.

"Umm, well I went to get some water, and then I thought I saw something" She hesitated " And there was a noise. It kinda sounded like something growling."

"I'll go check"

She grimaced, embarrassed. But she couldn't deny that soothing feeling she felt when he told her that he'd at least go check for her. But then, what if something was out there, what would happen to her uncle, the only family she has left?

"Wait, I wanna come with you" She suddenly announced, as she quickly got out of the bed, walked acrossed the room and opened the door.

He was already half way down the hall, and carrying a rifle in his left hand. He stopped, realizing that she was right behind him, "No Rukia, you can go back to sleep. It's probably just nothing."

"Then why are you holding a rifle?" She asked.

"Stay in your room," he ordered, stunned by the harshness of his voice. And she knew by the way he looked at her, that there was no way on earth he thought it was nothing.

But in the end, she went back to her room. Sitting on the edge of her bed, arms crossed. She shifted her weighed, bracing herself for another catastrope to happen. She was certain that something bad was about to happen. She was panicing, but still she managed to keep a straight face.

How long had she sat there?

It felt like hours, but she knew in reality it had probably just been a few minutes. She was scared. Scared of loosing him, scared because the only family she had left, was out risking his life, because of some silly noise she had heard. Finally she had decided she had, had enough. She walked over to the door, yanking it open.

Only to find her uncle on the otherside, his hand raised in mid air ready to knock on the door.

"Hi" She managed to say

His hair and shirt were soaked. The rifle he had was gone now; he was wiping his face with a wet tea towel. His face looked a bit pale

Did he find something? She wondered

"Well, heres the thing" He said "Can I come in?"

She moved out of the way and there was a chair right across from the bed, that she assumed he would sit on. So she sat on the bed.

But he for some strange reason, decided to remain standing. He glanced around the room, as if to consider what he was about to tell her.

"Well, about a week ago, a girl was killed,"he began

"Oh, I'm so sorry, was she someone you knew?" She said, alarmed

"She had been killed in the forest" He gave her a long look "She was had been alone when it had happened."

Rukia waited. Then it hit her, they lived in the forest, his house was surrounded by trees.

"I wont go in the forest alone." She said, as the reality hit her. "I'm not a hiker. Or a mountain person. I'm a beach person." She added.

"This is not a joke." He said seriously "She is dead."

"I don't mean to sound like I don't care" She said, which was true, she did care. In fact, she was terrified.

"I promise, I wont go out there alone."

He opened his mouth as if he was gonna say something. But just sighed and shook his head.

"Well, good night Rukia" He said instead

"Good night" She replied

She was sorry for the girl that had been killed. But she was angry at her uncle for dragging her out here in the forest, to live with him. In a forest that, she couldn't even take a few steps outside, without a fear of getting ripped apart by some wild animal. SH egrabbed her chappy doll and almost threw it at the wall, but instead she hugged it against her chest, letting the tears fall down her face as she slowly drifted off to sleep again.

What was out there?

What was that scrathing sound?

Why did she feel like someone was watching her?

The Next Morning

"Hey Rukia, you ready?" Her uncle yelled " He's here already"

"Comming!" She shouted, as she stuffed the toast in her mouth and ran out the front door, mouth still stuffed with toast.

"Hey, Rukia, you ready?" Asked Renji

Since she was still chewing the toast, she just gave him a thumbs up and nodded.

"Ok then, Renji make sure you drive slowly and don't crash" Said her uncle, jokingly

"Right" Replied Renji

Walking outside, to his car.

"Sweet ride, hey" He said proudly, hopping into his ride

She had expected him to have some beat up old truck like her uncle's one. But she was quiet suprised when he showed up in a shiny red mustang, with leather black seats.

"Yeah" Was the only thing she could come up with.

He turned on the engine, that roared like a lion and she waved a bye to her uncle before quickly hoping into the shiny red mustang.

It began to rain as they drove into the rain and the greenery. Renji, turned on his ipod and some AC/DC song started to play through the car speakers.

"So...my uncle said, that you got beat up for writing poetry" She said, teasingly

"Oh shit really... maybe when I was four, he's just telling you that to get you less attracted to me" he grinned at her. Which she couldn't help but laugh at.

"Well, it is now!" He said

Even though she knew it was rude, she couldn't resist the chance to text Momo. So for the rest of the trip to school, she had texted Momo. Momo had been waiting forever, to hear from Rukia. And she was texting her at like 4am at L.A. Rukia glanced up every few minutes to loook at Renji. He didn't seemed to mind being ignored. He just kept driving throught the dark woods like a maniac.

"Hold on" Renji suddenly shouted

Her head shot up, and she grabbed onto the side of the car, as they shot through a pitch black tunnel created by trees and vines.

"Ok, we're almost there, brace yourself for impact" He said

And ahead she could see the end of the pitch black tunnel, he suddenly sped up as they neared the end of the tunnel. And after a few more minutes, he started to slow down as they drove out of the dark tunnel.

She took a deep breathe as they drove into an old looking village. The houses were all built from stone and infront of very house was a small family owned shop. The town wasn't as bad as she and Momo had expected it to be. They passed a fountain that was in the center of a round about and a led sign was engraed on the side of the fountain, which said "Welcome to Wolf-Country" I wonder what that is? She thought

"Well, thats the school" Said Renji as he drove towards the buildings he just pointed to. "Ok, we'll park in the senior's parking lot and then I'l walk you to the front office"

"Ok" She said as he drove towards a parking lot with, alot of old rusty trucks and 2 big yellow school buses that had just pulled up.

"Hey," He said "I've gotta tell you something" His brown eyes seem to get darker and she coud tell that he was hesitating "About a week ago, just before you arrived, a friend of mine was killed" Of course he would have known her, afterall everyone knew everyone around here.

"My uncle, told me" She said

"What exactly did he say to you?" He asked, seriously

"Well he said that she was out in the forest alone. And that she had been killled" She said

He glanced back to the road, manuvering through the parking lot.

She wondered if the girl was close to him. His girlfriend, maybe.

"There are alot of urban legends, in a small town like this" He grimaced "Well, her name was Orihime and her death was the hot topic, well until everyone heard about the hollywood movie star that was comming to live here"

"Woah, you mean me?" She burst out, shocked. But he didn't crack a smile. She realized, that he was not only upset, but angry too.

"everyone brought teddy bears, candles andpictures and stuff to school. We all went to her funeral too. But now, now it's like she never even existed. But I havent forgotten, I wont ever forget her."

"I'm so sorry, Renji." She said sincerely

"I'm not trying to blame this all on you, it's just..." There was a silence "I want ya to be careful, okay." He forced a smile.

"And not just in the forest"

"RIght" She replied

I guess he was warning her about being the new girl here.

Once he parked, they both got out of his car and since it was still pouring, they both ran towards the arched entry with everyone else.

It suddenly, felt warmer in the building, she followed Renji as he lead her to the front office. On the way there she took glances at some of her new school mates. Picking out the geeks from the jocks. And guessing who would be popular and unpopular.

She took a deep breathe. Okay Rukia, new school, new rules. You can be anyone you want. Since no one knows you.

Well except for Renji. She noted. As he walked faster, she tried her hardest to keep up. Renji lead her to the door of the front office. And pointed inside.

"Okay, well this is it, I'll come find you at luch okay, bye" He said before dissapearing into the crowd

Leaving her alone, in a sea of new kids.


	4. Chapter 4

Rukia looked around the halls one more time before walking into the office. Behind a small wooden counter sat a rather plump middle age woman in a light blue blouse. Acknowledging her presence she looked up at her and smiled-continuing her work as she spoke to me.

"You must be Rukia." She said.

Oh how she wanted so desperately to say no, to say that Rukia was a girl that belonged in America with a caring brother and loving sister. And went to school somewhere else, but instead she forced herself to answer. "Yes."

"I've already got your timetable printed out. And there's a map of the school on the back to help you get around. But you don't have to worry, just ask one of the students if you need help getting around." She handed her the papers and waved me a goodbye.

 _Don't have to worry ha_ she though, thinking of what a joke this was. Thinking of what a joke her whole life had been.

She waved goodbye to the office lady and made her way out the door. She quickly examined her timetable before heading over to her first class.

After turning down a few corridors, she finally made it to her first class. History. She knocked on the door loudly, hoping she hadn't just interrupted something important.

After a few seconds of anxiously waiting, a girl opened the door for her, she was quiet tall and she looked quiet athletic.

"Okay everybody, this is Rukia and she will be joining this class from now on." Announced the teacher. "Um, you can go and sit next to Rangiku down the back there"

She walks over to the busty blond at the back, who had drooled all over her-side of the table, while she slept. She cautiously sat down on the chair next to her, making sure I didn't disturb her slumber.

"Hey, I'm Rangiku" Announces the girl next to me, who she though was asleep.

"Uh, hi. I'm Rukia" She replies, unsure of what to say.

"Hey, is it really true that you're a famous Hollywood Prostitute?" She asked eagerly.

"Wait what?! No!" Of course she had expected their to be rumours spread about her, because in a small town like this it's inevitable. But she never expected the rumours to be as outrageous as this. Is this what everyone thought of her as?

"Kuchiki, Matsumoto may I have your attention." Said Mr Kyoraku

"Yes sir" the two girls said in unison.

Time seemed to slow down as she sat there, waiting for the class to end. The teacher was teaching the class something about some famous inventer, she knew that since today was her first day she should be paying attention. But it was just so boring. Every history class she had been in seemed to take forever, she didn't know why she hated history so much; was it the annoying teachers that seemed to never stop talking, the really complexed assignments that were handed out, or the fact that all the people who you had to do research on were already dead. Maybe it was all three of those things?

"Okay class, today we're starting a new project," stated the teacher. " You will need to work in groups of two, and now that Rukia's here, we have an even number of students. For this assignment you will have to look into the history of this town, maybe look into some of the legends around here, or interview man elder of this town."

Rukia winced at the idea of getting a project partner on her first day.

Mr Kyoraku began reading through the list of names. Squeals could be heard as everyone began moving around to sit next to their new partners. Rukia tried to remember all the names of her new classmates as they were being called out. But there were just too many.

Finally he said, "Lisa, you'll be working with Rukia."

A tall girl stood up, she had long black Hair braided into a pony tail. She had red oval glasses. She looked like she was one of those really smart girls and she was also really pretty.

Some people would call Rukia pretty sometimes, but next to this girl, she felt like a dog. And if she was as smart as she looked, she was in for a hell of am assignment.

"Hey," Said the girl, holding out her hand. "I'm Lisa"

"Hi I'm Rukia" She managed to say as they shook hands.

"Well have you got any ideas on what we should do?" Asked Lisa

"Well legends sound like a lot of fun." Said Rukia

"Yeah, I know a lot of them since my family's been living here for generations" Replied Lisa

"Then that settles it, let's do legends." Said Rangiku


End file.
